It may have taken four years to get here, but there is finally a bit of good news for Rakeem Buckles’ college basketball career.

His head coach at Florida International told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com that the fifth-year senior will, in fact, be on scholarship heading into the 2013-2014 season.

When Buckles’ waiver for a transfer to Minnesota was denied by the NCAA last week, there was initially concern that a return to FIU would force him to play as a walk-on this season. Alas, Buckles will avoid have to take out student loans, which, for anyone currently paying them down, is a blessing.

It’s about time that Buckles got a bit of good news, however. The kid has been through enough. Not only did his waiver to transfer and play at Minnesota get denied (there’s a strong argument to say it was wrongfully denied), but Buckles will now be forced to play out his final season without the possibility of making the NCAA tournament. This comes after a career that saw his twice have a season ended by a torn ACL and once miss the beginning of the year with a spiral fracture in his finger.